MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On January 9, the Cyprus reunification talks, with the participation of Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades kicked off in Geneva. On January 11, the two sides exchanged maps outlining the areas of control for Greek and Turkish communities, following which Anastasiades presented a number of complaints to the Turkish community regarding the new map swap.
“I still hope these disputes [regarding the areas of Greeak and Turkish communities' control ] can be addressed through a combination of land swaps and financial compensation, finding who will foot the bill is another question that must be mutually agreed. However we should remain optimistic, the Greek and Turkish Cypriot representatives are more amicable than the past and the exchanging of maps and proposals is clearly a step forward,” Rosindell said.
On January 12, the talks were joined by Cyprus’s guarantor countries — Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union. The talks are set to resume on January 18, when the working group will make a list of particular issues and tools to be discussed.
Cyprus became divided in 1974 after a Turkish military invasion, caused by a coup conducted by the supporters of the island's unification with Greece. Negotiations concerning Cyprus reunion renewed in February 2014 after a two-year break. In November 2016, they broke up because of differences concerning territorial issues.
